The Nation - News from Sept. 29, 1988

A federal appeals court in Boston, rejecting a tobacco firm’s claim of confidentiality, ruled that a public interest group can obtain a consultant’s research documents on smoking and health. The Washington-based Public Citizen group, which sought the documents prepared for tobacco giant Liggett Group Inc., termed the decision “vital in terms of tearing down the wall of secrecy” in product liability cases. The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling regarding documents prepared for Liggett in the early 1950s.